There's been a lot of talk about getting more production from the nickel corner. It's no secret that Marcus Trufant was one of the weak links of the Seahawks defense this past season. In my mind, the Seahawks already have their long term nickel on the roster in Jeremy Lane. I'm a big fan of Lane's and think that with another season of experience he'll no longer just be an excellent gunner but a very good nickel CB as well.

What I do wonder about the Seahawks CB situation is whether or not Brandon Browner will be here long term. He'll be 29 when his contract expires next season. He'll probably be looking for his first real big payday, since the Seahawks signed him to a futures contract 3 years ago that has paid him a modest amount. He may decide to be extremely loyal to the only NFL team that gave him a shot but that might also be overly optimistic, idealistic, and unrealistic thinking.

So with that being said and his departure in the near future a legitimate possibility, it might be smart for the Hawks to start looking at potential replacements. Finding another Brandon Browner might be nearly impossible, but there's a guy I've had my eye on for a while now who I think could really thrive in Seattle's defensive system. David Amerson, the 6'3 corner out of NC State who set the NCAA record for interceptions in a single season in 2011.

The Good:

The Bad:

The Ugly:

So it's obvious he's not the perfect prospect, but not many are. The thing I wonder is if he falls on draft day, would the Seahawks be interested in the mid rounds? If you watch the videos on him, he isn't asked to play much press coverage. Some point out that he doesn't seem to want to tackle or hit, but there's evidence that points to the contrary. I think he's just a little bit reckless as a tackler and could use someone like Tru to help him work on his tackling technique, or Browner for that matter. I think if you draft this kid and let him learn behind some excellent defensive backs, you might just be on to a star. He's got great ball skills and is a threat to run with the ball after the INT.

The tape on him might be pretty ugly but that might help the Seahawks come draft day, if they're interested. If his stock takes a hit, I'd like to see Seattle make a play for him.

As an NC State fan, I hope he succeeds in the NFL, but I hope he's not drafted by the Seahawks. He was burned A LOT this year because he takes risks and lets recievers behind him--especially in blitz packages where he was one-on-one with recieves. He was oustanding in 2011, and he has good instincts and would probably be fine as a safety if he fixes letting players get deep, but he's not a good cover corner contrary to popular belief. Maybe his confidence was too high in 2012 with all the pre-season top-10 draft pick hype, but he has a lot to work on to be ready in the NFL.

I'm a big fan of Maxwell, as well, along with Lane. The thing is, I wouldn't feel 100% confident in just handing the job over to Maxwell and it doesn't fit the team's "compete" MO. We'll bring in someone for him to compete with. Hopefully, it's Browner. But if someone's willing to pay Browner big time money and the Seahawks don't want to go that route, I was wondering if we could develop Amerson.

aawolf wrote:As an NC State fan, I hope he succeeds in the NFL, but I hope he's not drafted by the Seahawks. He was burned A LOT this year because he takes risks and lets recievers behind him--especially in blitz packages where he was one-on-one with recieves. He was oustanding in 2011, and he has good instincts and would probably be fine as a safety if he fixes letting players get deep, but he's not a good cover corner contrary to popular belief. Maybe his confidence was too high in 2012 with all the pre-season top-10 draft pick hype, but he has a lot to work on to be ready in the NFL.

The tape on Amerson is ugly and I'm glad I'm getting the perspective from an NC State fan. The way I'm looking at it though is that I think he'll wash out of the league pretty quickly on mostly any other team. I'm wondering if his best chance at succeeding in the league is with Seattle. It doesn't look like he was asked to play much press coverage at all at NC State. Maybe playing closer to the line and getting more physical at the line will prevent him from letting so many receivers behind him. You point out that he's not a great cover corner, the same could be said about Brandon Browner but the Seahawks system allows him to get away with it. I'm just wondering if Amerson can be that guy here. My gut tells me no but I've seen these coaches do some amazing things with players with half the talent of Amerson so NOTHING would surprise me.

Not trying to rip on your guy here, but that first video clip most of those were when they had a lead in the game and the other teams where throwing the ball into double & quadruple coverage. It was more bad quartbacking then pure skills, still he was there to capitalize on their situation. Nickleback?

The tape on Amerson is ugly and I'm glad I'm getting the perspective from an NC State fan. The way I'm looking at it though is that I think he'll wash out of the league pretty quickly on mostly any other team. I'm wondering if his best chance at succeeding in the league is with Seattle. It doesn't look like he was asked to play much press coverage at all at NC State. Maybe playing closer to the line and getting more physical at the line will prevent him from letting so many receivers behind him. You point out that he's not a great cover corner, the same could be said about Brandon Browner but the Seahawks system allows him to get away with it. I'm just wondering if Amerson can be that guy here. My gut tells me no but I've seen these coaches do some amazing things with players with half the talent of Amerson so NOTHING would surprise me.

Tell me about it. That soft coverage that we ran for the last five years under our DC Mike Archer was horrendous. We got burned a lot underneath and on double-moves. I don't see how giving a five-yard cushion to a WR on every play is a good idea. That Tennessee game you posted highlights of was so painful to watch. Our secondary, including Amerson, which was supposed to be our strength this year, was exposed badly in that game (which was our first test of the year). We couldn't cover or even keep up with their recievers. Its not even as bad watching it a second time, since I'm not as suprised we played so badly. Amerson didn't look quite as bad as I remembered and Bray (The TN QB) looked much better than I remembered. Especially on that really deep play where Amerson was beat...it looked like he was expecting some safety help over the top. I don't remember seeing that when I first saw it.